PurelyFunctional.tv Newsletter 206: Fractals, Reagent, McCarthy

Written by Eric Normand. Published: January 2, 2016. Updated: January 2, 2017.

Issue 206 - January 02, 2016

Hi Functional programmers!

Happy New Year!

I'm looking forward to getting back into a good routine after the holidays.

I'd like to mention a few things:

Thanks to everyone who participated in the book giveaway. The entries are closed and I'll select a winner in the next few days.
The price of a new membership to PurelFunctional.tv will go up this week. If you want to get the current price, you should sign up now and lock in today's price.
The JVM Fundamentals for Clojure course is in Early Access. You can still buy it. I'm going to close the access soon. It will reopen at launch at a higher price. There haven't been any new videos recently due to the holidays, but I've been doing lots of research and organizing the curriculum. It's going to be killer.

Please enjoy the issue.

Rock on!

PS Want to get this in your email? Subscribe!

Lindenmayer Fractals

Lindenmayer fractals in ClojureScript with editable, interactive examples.

Programming Throwdown with Eric Normand

I had the wonderful oppotunity to speak on the Programming Throwdown podcast. We talked about Lisp, Clojure, ClojureScript, and more. Check it out.

Reagent in KLIPSE

The folks behind KLIPSE are at it again. This time, with a special Reagent snippet that will render Reagent components right in the page. You can edit them and watch them change before your eyes.

Many of you have already seen this piece I wrote on the big idea that Alan Kay saw in Lisp. It's an elusive concept that has to do with interpretation and small boostrapping material. I don't think I've done it justice. I'd love to have your comments on this article and how you would explain the Idea of Lisp.

Some Philosophical Problems from the Standpoint of Artificial Intelligence PDF

I am trying to read all of the papers by John McCarthy for two main reasons. One is that he invented Lisp, and as a serious lisper I want to know as much as I can about him. But the second reason is that Alan Kay has been referencing him a lot. This paper is a good example of the kind of thinking being done in computing back in the 1960s. There is much more discussion of logic, psychology, and philosophy than I see today, though it is still highly technical.

The Story of Sir Owl Lisp YouTube

Aki Helin presents a short history of functional programming and compares his language Owl Lisp to Clojure.

Isomorphic web apps with Rum Y

ouTube

Nikita Prokopov talks about Rum, the ClojureScript React wrapper he created. This talk explains the motivation behind it and how Rum is different from the others.

Guy Steele Interviews John McCarthy, Father of Lisp

Back in 2008, a small sub-conference hosted at OOPSLA celebrated the 50th anniversary of Lisp. One of the highlights was Rich Hickey speaking. Another was this interview between Guy Steele and John McCarthy.